Class Note 1959
Issue
September-October 2024
Sixty-five years, can you believe it? Our 65th reunion is upon us, which means that some of us have been married for 65 years and most of us are 86 or 87 years old. We are well into grandchildren and many into great-grandchildren. Hard to believe, but every discussion I have with classmates centers on the memories and visions of the Hanover scene when we were there. We all have special scenes or memories stored in the mental Rolodex that we call our brain, and they span the spectrum from Occom Pond to Davis Field House to “Great Issues” to the bonfires to Baker Library to Green Key to Thayer Hall to Tanzi’s to Parkhurst to the favorite faculty member to John Sloan Dickey and Dean McDonald. We all wish we could purposefully stride across the Green or intently engage with our classmates in some classroom in Dartmouth Row or at Tuck or at Thayer. But we must acknowledge that the tincture of time has started to color the picture.
Larry Furrer ’56, Th’57, was a couple of years ahead of us at Dartmouth. Larry was energized to write “Don’t Let the Old Man In” after hearing Clint Eastwood explain that aging was not easy, but that every morning he got up and did not let the old man in.
He’s always there in the morning,
But I hear a voice within.
It’s sending me a warning,
Don’t let the old man in!
Though I start out kind of slow,
I shake off all chagrin,
I tell myself, “Get ready to go.”
And don’t let that old man in!
I always have to walk with care,
Especially when I begin.
I admit sometimes I get a scare,
But I don’t let the old man in.
Great-grandkids help to keep me spry,
They make me laugh and grin.
I’m worn out when they say goodbye,
But I didn’t let the old man in.
By 10 o’clock, we say alright,
Let’s both of us call it a night,
By then there isn’t any doubt,
All day I kept the old man out.
Keep the cards and letters coming. Make 2024 a year of continuing accomplishments by the class of 1959 and don’t let the old man in.
—Charlie MacVean, 3528 Liggett Drive, San Diego, CA 92106-2153; (619) 508-4401; crmacvean@msn.com
Larry Furrer ’56, Th’57, was a couple of years ahead of us at Dartmouth. Larry was energized to write “Don’t Let the Old Man In” after hearing Clint Eastwood explain that aging was not easy, but that every morning he got up and did not let the old man in.
He’s always there in the morning,
But I hear a voice within.
It’s sending me a warning,
Don’t let the old man in!
Though I start out kind of slow,
I shake off all chagrin,
I tell myself, “Get ready to go.”
And don’t let that old man in!
I always have to walk with care,
Especially when I begin.
I admit sometimes I get a scare,
But I don’t let the old man in.
Great-grandkids help to keep me spry,
They make me laugh and grin.
I’m worn out when they say goodbye,
But I didn’t let the old man in.
By 10 o’clock, we say alright,
Let’s both of us call it a night,
By then there isn’t any doubt,
All day I kept the old man out.
Keep the cards and letters coming. Make 2024 a year of continuing accomplishments by the class of 1959 and don’t let the old man in.
—Charlie MacVean, 3528 Liggett Drive, San Diego, CA 92106-2153; (619) 508-4401; crmacvean@msn.com